Va. Researcher “Novel Method” to Extract Lithium from M-U Brine

(From left) Graduate student Peidong Liu and mining and minerals engineering Associate Professor Wencai Zhang analyze water samples in the lab. Photo by Hailey Wade for Virginia Tech. Researchers at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering have developed a “novel method” for direct lithium extraction from Marcellus produced water to contribute to the high demand for…

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32 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 26 – Sep 1

For the week of Aug. 26 – Sept. 1, a total of 32 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica, nearly matching the previous week’s 34. It’s nice to see the numbers returning to higher levels. The Keystone State (PA) had 18 new permits. PA’s top recipient was EQT (and its subsidiary…

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Low NatGas Price Has “Crippled” Financial Results for M-U Cos.

There’s just no way to sugarcoat the fact that the low low price for natural gas is having an impact on shale drillers in the Marcellus/Utica. According to an analyst with RBN Energy, a price plunge to near the $2/MMBtu level in early 2023 “crippled” financial results for the companies RBN monitors that are gas-focused…

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34 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 19 – 25

For the week of August 19 – 25, a total of 34 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. The Keystone State (PA) had 16 new permits. PA’s top recipient was Chesapeake Energy, with six permits in Bradford County. Coterra Energy was a close second, with five new permits issued in neighboring…

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MVP Water Pressure Test Rupture Mystery Solved: Defective Weld

On May 1, a section of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) ruptured during final pressure testing in Roanoke County, Virginia (see Section of MVP Ruptures Near Roanoke Under Water Pressure Test). An independent metallurgical test identified a defective weld in an elbow joint as a cause of the failure. No internal or external corrosion…

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WV Judge Blocks Class Action in Diversified Old Wells Lawsuit

MDN has an exclusive update on a lawsuit by several West Virginia surface landowners who are suing Diversified Energy over Diversified’s failure to plug their unproducing conventional wells. At the prompting of the Sierra Club, the landowners attempted to turn the lawsuit into a class action. Yesterday, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court…

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16 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 12 – 18

This week’s permit report is a bit different. Technically, for the week of August 12 – 18, a total of seven new permits were issued across the Marcellus/Utica. However, last week’s permit report omitted West Virginia numbers because the state’s online data service was out of order (see 26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for…

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Pipelines to the Rescue! Delivering M-U Gas to Va. & Carolinas

Recently, we’ve told you about the coming demand for natural gas to generate electricity that data centers and artificial intelligence will need (see Big Midstream Companies Eye Data Center/AI Market for New Pipes). The left’s answer for increased power demand is to kill new data centers and ban AI (see Leftists Argue for Ban on…

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26 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Aug 5 – 11

For the week of August 5 – 11, a total of 26 permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica, with the vast majority issued in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State had 21 new permits, with an eye-popping 19 going to EQT split between Greene and Washington counties (in the southwestern part of the…

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WV Landowner Lawsuit Against EQT, Diversified re Old Wells Continues

In June 2018, MDN exclusively brought our readers the news that Diversified Gas & Oil (now called Diversified Energy) had purchased EQT Corporation’s Huron Shale assets, with a bunch of conventional wells, in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia for $575 million (see Diversified Gas & Oil Adds to Conventional Assets in KY, VA, WV). A…

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9 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Jul 22 – 28

For the week of July 22 – 28, a total of nine permits were issued to drill new shale wells in Marcellus/Utica. Pennsylvania had the fewest with just two new permits, one each for Seneca Resources and Rice Drilling (i.e., EQT). Ohio had the most with four new permits, all of them for EOG Resources…

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EQT & Others Enter “Phase 1” of Hydrogen Hub; DOE Cuts $30M Check

An important milestone was reached on Wednesday regarding the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). You may recall that ARCH2 was one of seven projects to win the Bidenista Hunger Games competition to receive a chunk of $7 billion to build a regional hydrogen hub (see Hydrogen Hub Winners Announced – WV Takes Prize in…

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EQT 2023 ESG Report Titled “Unlimited Potential” Touts NatGas

EQT Corporation continues to be the #1 highest-producing natural gas driller in the U.S. — at least for now, until Chesapeake Energy merges with Southwestern Energy to eclipse EQT as the #1 driller. But for now, it’s EQT. Yesterday, EQT released its 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report, titled “Unlimited Potential.” Among the noteworthy…

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M-U Drillers Excited About Growing Demand from Nearby Data Centers

Just last week, MDN brought you the news about a new report from Aurora Energy Research that predicts new electricity demand from data centers in northern Virginia could (likely will) hit 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 (see Report Says Va. Data Center Growth Needs 15 GW of Gas-Fired Power). According to Aurora, wind and solar…

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Coterra CEO Tells Jim Cramer Direct Deals with Data Centers Coming

Coterra Energy CEO Tom Jorden sat for an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money program Tuesday evening. During the interview, Jorden had an interesting comment and insight that has the power to change the natural gas market. Jorden said that data center operators (big computer server facilities) may cut supply agreements directly with…

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